


Love Can Be Found In Very Strange Places

by Viskovie



Category: Mad Max Series (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, let's pretend that Nux can make rings as well as engines, max is an cinnamon bun and deserves happiness, very small amounts of plot, wedding ring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-01-27 02:09:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12571380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Viskovie/pseuds/Viskovie
Summary: Furiosa didn’t cry often. It just wasn’t something that she did. Max had only ever seen her cry three times; when Angharad fell out of the Rig, when she found out that the Green Place no longer existed, and when Max finally plucked up the courage to ask a very important question.





	1. Favours

Max walked slowly through the Citadel, reciting directions in his head. He turned a corner and stopped. No, this didn’t seem right. He was supposed to be at the repair bay to ask that one War Boy a favour, but he had somehow found himself in a large circular room. Max cursed the Citadel and its endless, identical corridors. He took a closer look at the room, anyway. There were niches, about the size of a large tyre, at various levels all around the walls. He remembered Furiosa telling him about these once. Apparently, the niches were the openings to the War Boys’ sleeping areas. According to the former Imperator, there was a little tunnel which opened into a sort of cave where the Boys would sleep and store all of their belongings.

Max turned to walk out when a thought occurred to him. It took him a moment to recall the right name but then he got it.  
“Nux!” He called, hoping that the War Boy was in one of the bunks. About twenty others stuck their heads out of the niches – mostly in pairs, Max noticed – but no Nux.  
“He’s in the repair bay.” One of the Boys returned grumpily.  
“As usual.”  
That comment was met with snickers. Max nodded and left.

Damnit. Back to square one.  
____________________

A while later, Max finally found himself in the right place. The clang of metal on metal rang through the air, which was hot and humid. Sweat immediately began to bead on his forehead. He was used to the heat of the desert, but this place was a furnace. He discovered a new respect for the Boys that spent their days in here. Cupping his hands around his mouth, Max called Nux again. A nearby War Boy stuck his head out from under the car he was working on, scowling. Actually, Max wasn’t sure what expression he was making because of the gruesome scars stretching across his cheeks. The Boy pointed to a car a few meters away with a heavy-looking wrench. The car, if you could call it that, was little more than a rusty skeleton.

A cargo-clothed rear end was poking out from behind the shell, and Max could hear something metal being hammered into shape. He walked over to the War Boy, being careful not to trip over the various tools and pieces of scrap. Honestly, he thought. This place needed a bloody good sweep and maybe a window. He tapped the Boy on the shoulder. He jumped and dropped the hammer onto whatever he was working on. A stream of expletives followed as he hastily checked to make sure it wasn’t broken. Max’s eyebrows rose.

When the Boy finally stood up, satisfied, Max noticed again just how tall he was.  
“I need a favour.” Max told him. The other nodded, looking suspicious. “I need a ring.”  
“A ring.”  
“Yes.”  
“What for?”  
Max grunted in response, feeling his cheeks warm a little. He waved his hands a bit, trying to get his point across but not doing a very good job. Nux looked confused.  
“An engine isn’t working?” He guessed. Max shook his head.  
“You’re trying to build something, then?”  
Max was equally confused for a moment, until he realised what Nux was talking about.  
“I’m not building anything. I need a ring to give to Furiosa.” He explained. God, this wasn’t working. Nux still wasn’t getting it. Max sighed.  
“It’s a … gift… for her. From me.” He said slowly. He could almost see the wheels turning in the War Boy’s head. Then, a light went on and a sly look crept across his pale face.

Max suddenly spotted a loophole in his plan.  
“Don’t you dare tell anyone.” He growled, forestalling Nux. His face fell theatrically, but immediately brightened.  
“What kind of ring?” He asked, already grabbing pieces of scrap metal from around him.  
“Something pretty, but not … overdone.” Max outlined, fishing around his pocket for the sketch that he and Cheedo had brainstormed together. He found it and handed it to Nux.  
“Nice drawing.” He commented, carefully examining the picture. His brows knitted. “That looks like a diamond.” He said, looking at Max worriedly. Max nodded. “I don’t know where to get those.”

Max gave the Boy a rare grin, and pulled a glittering gem, about the size of a pepper kernel, out of his pocket as well. It was rough and uncut – by no stretch of the imagination perfect – but he and Furiosa had found it, and it was special. Nux’s eyes lit up in awe but he didn’t say anything, which Max was grateful for.  
“I’ll hang onto this until the ring is ready for it.” He said, putting the diamond back into his pocket. Nux nodded. Max thanked him and went to leave but then turned back.  
“You can tell your friend, Slit is it?” he said. Nux nodded again. “Don’t let him tell anyone.” Max added as an afterthought. Then, he left the sweltering, noisy repair bay with a sense of excitement warming in his belly for the first time in years.


	2. And So We Wait

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that this is so short (and probably as uncohesive as they come) but my exams are coming up and I have one hundred thousand things on my mind, so this fic has taken a backseat for the time being.  
> Also, apologies for the inconsistant posting. I'll try to work on that. Thank you to all the people who have read this - and enjoyed it! - and commented nice things. It makes me feel better about my writing.

Max spent the next few days fidgeting. He didn’t know how long it would take Nux to make the ring, and whether or not it would fit Furiosa. He couldn’t just ask her for the width of her finger – that would be weird – and he couldn’t use the measurement of his own because his hands were a lot bigger than hers. So he tried to keep busy by doing repairs, arguing with the War Boys about various issues, keeping Furiosa company while she did perimeter checks, arguing with the War Boys, helping to administer rations, and arguing with the War Boys. It was a lot of back-and-forth bickering about the lack of shirts. The Wives wanted the Boys to wear shirts, because they were reminded too much of Him otherwise, but the War Boys refused. Their argument: it went against “generations of tradition.” In Max’s humble opinion – utter rubbish. 

He was taking a quick break from the incessant work – a Buzzard’s decimated raid car, complete with dead Buzzard, had been brought in yesterday and he’d stupidly volunteered to help rebuild it – and was sitting in the Green Room, half-listening to Dag ramble on about all the different types of seeds she’d planted. It was good that she’d found something in this wasteland to be proud of, but what Max knew about plants could be written on the back of a postage stamp. He was enjoying his well-deserved rest while ignoring the sweat trickling down the back of his neck when the door to the Green Room suddenly burst open. Max jumped. Judging from the curse, Dag had done the same. The words that came out of her mouth were astounding. 

Nux came bounding into the room, a look of excitement on his face. He stumbled on the uneven ground and landed hard in Max’s lap. He spared a moment to take a few deep breaths as his groin throbbed painfully. Nux had really damn sharp elbows! The War Boy sat up and flung his hand out, nearly catching Max in the face. Nux flattened his palm and showed Max the ring. It was a thin band of whatever-metal-Nux-had-found, and was decorated with swirling lines that seemed to flow like water. It was still a little tarnished but Nux assured him that, after he’d set the diamond, he’d polish it until it was “more chrome than Slit’s thundersticks! Don’t tell him I said that”.

Max gently took the ring and admired it, turning it this way and that. Nux’s attention to detail was incredible. He fished in his pocket and pulled out the gem, then replaced them both in Nux’s outstretched palm.  
“Be careful with it, I don’t have another.” He warned. Nux nodded and tucked both into his own pocket, before taking off to god-knows-where. 

“He’s an energetic one, ain’t he?” Dag commented. Max hummed. Nux was, according to Capable, very sweet but he could drain the energy from a room simply by standing in it. Dag sent him a sideways look from the corner of her eye. Max shifted uncomfortably. She turned, hands on hips, and fixed him with a look.  
“What’s the ring for?” She questioned. Max shook his head and blushed. Dag raised her eyebrows and waited. Sighing, Max explained the plan to her. A wide grin split her face.  
“I won’t tell anyone. Promise.” She sang, sticking out her pinky before returning to her precious plants.  
____________________

“Max?” Furiosa put her hand on his shoulder, jolting him out of his reverie. She smirked. “You were a thousand miles away.”  
“Been busy.” He grunted. She smiled softly.  
“I know. You’re a bigger help than you know, Max. Without you, I don’t know if the Wives and I would have been able to pull everything together. The War Boys would probably still be running loose, and without someone to – how can I say this – keep them in check, God only knows what havoc they’d have caused.” She giggled. “Can you imagine it? They’d be like kittens without a box.”  
Max grinned.  
“Oversize, violent, barking mad kittens.” He added. They both laughed at that. After a while she tucked her shoulder into his and they sat quietly, enjoying the rare peace. 

Max gazed at Furiosa, thinking of all that she had brought to his life. Sure, she had led them on a wild goose chase and introduced the obnoxiously difficult War Boys to him, but this was the most excitement that he’d had in years. He absentmindedly stroked her hair and she jerked awake, raising her metal arm and swearing as she did. It took her a second to realise where she was. She twisted around to give Max a beady look. He shrugged.  
“I didn’t know you were sleeping.”  
“Hmph.”  
She kissed his cheek, then climbed over him to get back into the driver’s seat of the War Rig. It was getting dark, and time for them to leave. Just before they reached the Citadel, she looked over to Max. He didn’t miss the way her eyes glittered with the beginnings of tears.  
“Thank you.” She said.


	3. Answer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finished!! I’m sorry that this took so long and that it’s terrible and OOC.

Max woke up very suddenly the next day. He wasn't quite sure why - he hadn't been dreaming - until the world finally came into focus. A child, about eight or nine, was crouched over him and poking around in his mouth. He yelled in shock and the kid leapt away like a startled hare, then darted out of the room. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, willing away the taste of dust and clay. Disturbingly, it wasn't the first time that something like this had happened. A few days ago, he'd been woken by a little kid prodding his belly with a stick. He had managed to grab it before it could disappear and demanded what it was doing. However, the little rat had refused to say anything.

He dragged himself out of his makeshift bed and went to the window to see what time it was. The sun was only just peeking over the dunes. Damn. He could have slept for another hour, as breakfast was rarely on his agenda. Max looked longingly at his bed, wondering if he'd be able to go back to sleep. Deciding against it, he began his long and winding journey to the mess hall.  
————————  
When he finally got there, food had already been dished out. He trudged over to where Furiosa and Toast had saved him a spot. He sat heavily, still blinking sleep out of his eyes. Furiosa smiled and slid a plate across to him. He patted her shoulder gratefully, and she returned to her conversation. He ate slowly, not because he wasn't hungry but because it was unusually good - grilled lizard and some of Dag's fresh carrots. Just as he was finishing up, Nux and Slit stumbled into the hall. Neither looked like they'd had much sleep, and Nux was walking funny. Max and Furiosa glanced at each other, and she raised her eyebrows.  
"No prizes for guessing what happened there." She murmured. It took Max a second but then-  
"Oh."  
He cleared his throat uncomfortably and finished his food. 

They sat and talked for a while until Max remembered his morning. When he asked Furiosa about it, she frowned.  
"It's because you're different." She said slowly. "The Pups have never seen a man like you, so they probably want to know if you've got all your teeth, if your joints work the same way theirs do, things like that. If it happens again, just yell and be authoritative. It usually works."  
Max nodded, satisfied that he wasn't going to be abducted and used for experiments by crazy, anatomy-obsessed children.

After the meal, Nux grabbed his arm and pulled him aside. He made sure they were alone before taking an object out of his pocket and tucking it into Max's palm. He uncurled his hand and caught his breath. The ring gleamed silver and the carefully-inlaid diamond glittered in the light, making little rainbows against his skin. He hadn't seen an object so beautiful in, well, forever. It was delicate enough to be feminine, but not so much that it would be unlike the woman it was meant for.  
"You owe me, hey." Nux said softly. Max looked up and saw a faint smile on the War Boy's face. "I'm behind on my actual work."  
Max chuckled.  
"Thank you. It's perfect." He said, before wrapping the ring in a scrap of cloth and hiding it in his own pocket. Nux smiled and slapped his shoulder playfully, before loping off to find Slit. 

Max imagined the look on Furiosa's face, and grinned. Today was a good day.  
————————  
He fidgeted the whole damn day. The ring in his pocket seemed to burn against his leg and he couldn't concentrate on anything. Eventually, after nearly welding a support rod to his arm, Slit chased him out of the repair bay while grumbling that he was a liability. Max wandered the corridors for a while, until he couldn't keep himself distracted anymore. He made his way to the Green Room in the hopes of finding Dag. He had put his hand on the door handle when he heard voices from inside. Normally, he would have turned around and left it at that, but he heard his name.  
"... I don't know what we'd do without Max." Said Furiosa.  
"Yeah, he's a massive help." Dag's voice.  
"He's been perfect. Still is, if we're being honest."  
"He is perfect. Almost too perfect, if I must say." Dag commented, and both women laughed.  
"I love him more than anything." Furiosa said, sounding much closer. Max realised that she was going to open the door split seconds before she did. However, he had no time to react. The door swung inwards and she nearly walked into him. Over her shoulder, Dag raised an eyebrow.  
"Max...?" Said Furiosa, hand on her hip.  
"Eavesdropping?" Chirped Dag. Max blushed and shook his head vehemently.  
"No, I came to visit Dag." He explained sheepishly. She shook her head at him. Furiosa narrowed her eyes in mock suspicion. 

Deciding that there was no time like the present, Max fished the ring out if his pocket and dropped to one knee. Furiosa's real hand flew to her mouth.  
"Furi, you know how much I love you but I still want to show you forever." He stammered, his cheeks heating. "Will you marry me?"  
Furiosa didn't move, but a tear slipped down her cheek. Then she nodded, and Dag cheered. Max felt a weight lift off his chest. He had guessed a while ago that she remembered what marriage was before the world died too much. Apparently, he was right.

He took her flesh hand and slipped the ring onto her finger, praying that it fit. Luckily, it did. Furiosa pulled him into a crushing hug and sobbed into his shoulder.  
"I love you." Max smiled.  
"L've you too." Came the muffled response. Dag winked at him.  
"Well done." She mouthed.

Eventually, Furiosa straightened and wiped the tears from her face. She held her hand out to admire the ring, turning it this way and that. It was fantastic craftsmanship, Max knew, and she seemed to think so too. Suddenly, she threw herself into his arms again and kissed him. Dag whistled good-naturedly.  
————————  
It was a few months later when Max and Furiosa sat quietly among the greenery at the top of the Citadel to watch the sun go down. Furiosa was curled up against him, his arm around her, and Max had never felt more complete. His life had fallen apart in the worst possible way but Furiosa had gathered up the pieces and stuck them all back together, attaching a piece of herself to Max’s heart. He kissed the top of her head, and was rewarded with a small contented noise. His life was looking bright again.


End file.
